This creamy, dreamy Cottage Cheese Ice Cream is protein-packed perfection! Add your favorite toppings and mix-ins to make this easy recipe your own. It’s perfect when you want a little treat!
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Better-for-you ice cream that’s crave-worthy too.
I’m a firm believer in the everything-in-moderation policy, which means I am more than happy to dive into a pint of Ben & Jerry’s at the end of a long day.
But this cottage cheese ice cream is so good, I get (almost) as much satisfaction from it as the real deal.
(I mean, it doesn’t have the fudgy fish, caramel, and marshmallows, but you can add your own mix-ins if you’re feeling ambitious. Just sayin’.)
- You can make this cottage cheese ice cream without an ice cream maker, or you can churn it for a texture that’s closer to traditional ice cream. Options: you have them!
- Because it’s made with cottage cheese, protein powder, and nut butter, you get 18 grams of protein in each scoop, which means this is a healthy ice cream that satisfies too.
- It’s easy to change up the flavor with different extracts and mix-ins, along with your favorite toppings. Making this into a breakfast banana split is definitely on my agenda!
If you love my Protein Ice Cream, this cottage cheese ice cream is a must-make too!
Key Ingredients
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.
- Full-Fat Cottage Cheese. Using full-fat is important because it helps make the ice cream ultra creamy and rich. (And don’t worry, since you’re pureeing the mixture, there won’t be any curds in the ice cream!)
- Protein Powder. A scoop of vanilla protein powder is optional, but it will give the ice cream vanilla flavor and an extra protein boost.
- Sweetener. I use honey or maple syrup for sweetness.
- Nut Butter. If you don’t want to taste the nut butter, use cashew butter. If you do want to taste it, go for almond or peanut butter. The nut butter helps with the texture and richness of the ice cream.
- Chocolate Chips. Or any other mix-ins you like.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
Blend. Add the cottage cheese, protein powder, sweetener, and nut butter to your blender and process until the mixture is completely smooth.
Freeze It. Use your ice cream maker or Ninja Creami according to the manufacturer’s instructions, or just stir in the chocolate chips and transfer to a loaf pan, then freeze.
My Favorite Mix-Ins
I have SO many ideas for you, but first: the best time to add mix-ins is after churning or right before freezing if you’re using the no-churn method. Gently fold them in and make sure hard or high water content mix-ins, like granola, nuts, and fresh fruit, are chopped so they don’t get rock hard when frozen!
- Fruit. I like jams and pie fillings (like this Homemade Apple Pie Filling and Cherry Pie Filling) better than fresh because the fruit is soft and jammy even when frozen. But finely chopped peaches and mangoes work well too.
- Nut Butters. Yes, there’s already nut butter in this cottage cheese ice cream, but if you want to add ribbons of it throughout, you can spoon room temperature nut butter into the ice cream and swirl it in.
- Fudge and Caramel. Use jarred hot fudge (but don’t heat it!) or caramel sauce and swirl them in.
- Other Fun Things. Try crumbled cookies (like these Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies!), pieces of Black Bean Brownies, Homemade Granola, nuts, or chopped candy bars.
More High Protein Treats to Try
- These Protein Cookies taste so much better than the ones they sell at the store!
- For a cookie that’s soft and chewy, these Oatmeal Protein Cookies are perfect.
- This poppable Protein Balls Recipe is the perfect sweet treat to beat the afternoon slump.
Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
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Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) container full-fat cottage cheese
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder about ¼ cup, optional
- ¼ cup honey or pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup nut butter of choice: use cashew butter for a neutral flavor or almond butter or peanut butter
- ¼ cup chocolate chips or other mix-ins of choice
Instructions
- In a high speed blender or food processor, blend the cottage cheese, protein powder, honey, and nut butter until smooth.
- If using an ice cream maker, proceed according to your manufacturer's instructions (for my Ninja Creami, that means freezing the batter for 24 hours and waiting to add the chocolate chips). Or if you are not using an ice cream maker, stir in the chocolate chips, then transfer to a loaf pan.
- If using a loaf pan: freeze until hard, at least 4 hours. Let soften up a bit at room temperature prior to serving.
- If using an ice cream maker: Spin according to your machine's instructions. (For a Ninja Creami, use the “Lite Ice Cream Setting.” Make a hole down the center and the chocolate chips. Spin on the “Mix-Ins” setting. If it’s firmer than you would like, add about 1 tablespoon milk and respin once more.)
Notes
Nutrition
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I was really curious about this cottage cheese ice cream and finally gave it a shot. I used cashew butter and maple syrup, and the flavor was surprisingly good. It’s not exactly like regular ice cream, but it has a creamy texture and feels more filling, probably because of the protein. It’s a nice option when you want a treat that doesn’t feel too indulgent.
I’m so glad to hear, Renee! Thank you!
I made this according to the recipe. I used my food processor and loaf pans for freezing. This was so delicious! I highly recommend! I love vanilla, so I didn’t need any mix-ins, but I set some aside to put chocolate chips in to try and that was also quite delicious.
I used XS Grass-fed Whey Vanilla protein, which blended super well.
So glad to hear this Angela, thank you!
I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about cottage cheese in a dessert, but this was actually pretty good! It blended up super smooth, and the peanut butter gave it a nice flavor. I let it sit out for a few minutes before scooping, and the texture was creamy and not icy. Not your typical ice cream, but a fun, high-protein version.
So happy to hear you enjoyed this Paula!
This was definitely a unique twist on ice cream. The cottage cheese blends into a really smooth base, and I loved how simple the recipe was. I used maple syrup and peanut butter, and the flavor kind of reminded me of a frozen peanut butter cheesecake. Will probably try it again with different mix-ins. Thank you!
Yay! Thank you Kristine!
What do you think if I used pancake syrup as the sweetener? Tks!
Hi John! I wouldn’t recommend it, it’s definitely not the same as maple syrup.